


The Abyss Is Watching, Synchronicity & Atrophy

by SkylerScull1



Series: Undertale: AlTeRCoDe Series [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Ficious Kredahm (Gaster Follower 1), Inspired By Undertale, Lethia Goner (Name for Goner Kid), Lious Crain (Gaster Follower 3), Lycian Perdeita Grendle (Gaster Follower 2), Mad Scientists, Pre-Accident W. D. Gaster, Pre-Undertale, Scientist Sans (Undertale), Scientist W. D. Gaster, Teenage Sans (Undertale), The Core (Undertale), The Void, Unethical Experimentation, Worried Sans (Undertale)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2020-07-24 01:15:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20017858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkylerScull1/pseuds/SkylerScull1
Summary: Doctor Gaster knew many things but some things were even out of his control. He was a royal scientist prone to meaningful coincidences, he always knew when to act and what to do, fate always lead him to the correct path and everything happened for a reason, he always believed that and fate never failed him before. He was born for great things and he had all the time in the world to get it done.Sans was wasting away, he knew it deep down in his bones. He was so tired but his brother always kept him going, his insticts have never steered him wrong before and all of his insticts were telling him that he was going to die. No doctor was going to save him, he was Falling. But... he could at least get a job until then, he has the time. Not all the time in the world but.... maybe working for the royal scientist might do some good, it'll pay the bills at least.Two very different monsters meet during unlikely circumstances, one devoured by his own Apathy and Atrophy, the other at the verge of a scientific breakthrough that could change the world as they know it, both gazing into a void that gazes right back. The verge of everything and nothing. What's the worst that can happen?





	1. Prologue: Problems Are In Many Forms

  
"Have you ever thought of a world where you didn't exist? Where everything works perfectly fine without you?" Gaster asks as he looks through the heat resistant window in front of him and observes the core with a frown, Ms. Goner hesitently walks up to him.

"What do you mean Doctor?" Goner stands next to him with a frown, sometimes Gaster didn't make much sense, Gaster puts his hand on Goner's armless shoulder and smirks, he continues to look at the core proudly.

"My lovely assistant, I promise you'll understand soon, just be patient and everything will be clear." Gasters calm voice echoes throughout the room, Sans is uneasy and watches from the doorway, something was wrong.


	2. Ch1 A Job Interview

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To Gaster's surprise someone broke into his office for a job interview that was already taken. A day earlier.
> 
> Whoever could it be?

###  **The Abyss Is Watching, Synchronicity & Atrophy**

**Chapter 1: A Job Interview**

"So tell me, little skeletal. Why should I, pick you out of all the other wonderful choices available? What makes you so special?" Gaster asks, leaning across the table and into Sans' personal space. Sans leans back, his grin freezing in place, he sure didn't expect Gaster to go for the intimidation routine. 'welp, two can play at that game.' Sans thought bitterly, there's no way he's getting out of this alive, good acting skills or not.

"heh, little skeletal? really? that a bonafide nickname?" Sans blurts out in a panic. 'oh, god why did I just say that?! why is humor always my go to? I'm so dead.'

Gaster opens his mouth before closing it and leaning back in his chair, after a moment of silence he speaks up, "Ah, I apologize. I have always been prone to drama now-a-days. You ARE a skeleton correct?" Gaster asks, lightly tapping Sans' resume with his left hand.

Sans snorts, "yeaahhh, i'm a skeleton alright." Gaster stares for a moment before Sans gulps and continues, "I don't mean any disrespect sir. uh, to answer your... question. I uhm, study quantum mechanics, physics, chemistry, astronomy and some... basic engineering in my spare time. I also have a Master of Science degree..." Sans pauses and looks away from Gaster, which prompts Gaster to speak up during the brief lapse of silence, "Please continue Sans."

Gasters expression, closed off as it was, showed none of his true feelings. Sans winced slightly, 'time to get to the point.' "I also studied your notes and books about the CORE and uh, SOUL power... real, uh, interesting, doc. I mean, time travel? bit of a stretch but definitely possible with enough soul power. there's a few holes here and there in your theory though. bit ahead of our time too, ain't it doc?" Sans winked, the doctor smiled and Sans breathed a silence sigh in relief, 'got 'em, hook, line and sinker.' His smile became a little less nervous, there's no way the doctor would refuse him now.

  
_-Gaster POV-_

When Gaster came in today for work, the last thing he expected was for one of the few remaining skeleton monsters in existence to be found breaking into his office for an job interview opportunity that he was a day late for. Not only that but this "Sans" character seemed to be a nervous wreck, not only did he miss his only chance to work with the royal scientist by handing in his resume a day later then the deadline but he'd also broke into Gaster's office without triggering any alarms and the only thing on his resume was his first name in all lowercase, his contact information and nothing else. It didn't say anything about Sans' education or work experience, it didn't even say his age. Over all it was pretty unassuming, disappointing even.

Regardless, something about Sans screamed 'dangerous', the air seemed to be charged with tension and danger the instant Gaster looked at him. Of course, Gaster did the smart thing and checked the monster the second he noticed him and Sans' stats seemed to disprove every instinct in Gaster's body telling him to run. 1 Hp, 1 Atk, 1 Df, surely the weakest monster correct?

Gaster sighs, breaking out of his musings, "Ah, young cadaver exactly how much of Quantum Mechanics have you studied to understand my work so well? What hole in my theory have you noticed young one?" he asks with a polite, calculated smile, tilting his head curiously.

Sans smiles back at him, "well, uh, first off: if our 'time' is closed off from the surface's time like you theorized then we'd be dealing with a tangent universe, we're in our own little pocket dimension or quantum bubble. time would be, uh, working over-time to get rid of any anomaly. monsters being a thing would be an anomaly cause we don't exist in their universe any more so monsters are pretty much erased from existence on the surface, which explains why there's no record of monster-kind on the surface." 

"Our world is temporally adrift indeed." Gaster narrows his eyes, having briefly considered the same theory of non-existence before, "Continue."

"well, uh, the timelines on the surface and here underground are inherently different, doc. uh time is affected by mass right?" Sans pauses to double check, Gaster nods sharply, his frown still on his face.

"gravity slows time down, the bigger the gravitational field the slower time runs and the greater the curvature in space-time. so one day down here would be six surface days because the barrier is dense enough to slow down time underground so that it runs completely differently from the surface time right?" Sans continues, his grin fading into a more thoughtful frown. Gaster nods, that was the basis what was written down in his book and Sans seemed to understand the theory pretty well for as young as he was.

Sans clears his non-existent throat before continuing once more, "one year down here would probably be about six surface years. if times being or gonna be messed with by some anomaly like you said then your calculations would be way off, each reset would only effect the underground not the surface which means that with each reset the calculations become slightly off so the whole theory is basically going down the drain if your aiming to keep track of time both up there and down here." Sans shrugs, grinning once again. Seeming to find pleasure in finding holes in Gaster's theory's and calculations, he didn't have a single problem telling them to the guy himself.

Gaster takes a deep breath, thinking carefully about what he was just told. It wasn't every day that someone tried to prove him wrong, worst yet, the skeletal was right, "I understand the basis of what your trying to tell me, young one. I agree completely and I can see all too well how your thought process works and how my calculations could end up wrong." he says softly, looking down at Sans who was sitting across from him. Standing up slowly, he walks around the table to stand behind the skeleton, resting his cold bony hands on Sans' delicate shoulders.

"uh, really doc? do ya really mean that?" Sans sounded so unsure and so surprised at Gaster's praise that Gaster couldn't help but smile, tightening his grip on the skeletons bony shoulders. Sans freezes, becoming as still as death underneath Gaster's hands before slowly turning his head to see Gaster's face.

Gaster flashes him a bone-chilling smile, looming over Sans with a type of pride in his eyes, "Of course young one, your a clever skeletal with so much potential. I dare say your hired, any family I should know about? A scientist is a risky job indeed." Gaster muses, his voice near a whisper. 

"n-no, none sir. uh, what will I be doing?" Sans hesitantly asks, his earlier faux confidence melting away when greeted by Gaster's cold if amiable demeanor.

Gaster's cold smile widens into a mad grin, "You'll be my personal assistant of course."


	3. Introducing The Followers

###  **The Abyss Is Watching, Synchronicity & Atrophy**

**Chapter 2: Introducing The Followers**

Sans, for all intents and purposes, never actually expected for Gaster to hire him. He didn't even really want the job and it showed.

He broke into the guys office, handed in a shit resume that required the LEAST work possible, handed the resume in A DAY after the deadline and was STILL in his pajamas to top it all off.

So yeah. You can see why he's so surprised that he got the job... as Gaster's personal assistant. Of all unbelievable, inane things that happened today, that definitely took the cake.

Sans thinks back to this morning, what started his desperate search for a job in the first place and led to Sans becoming the personal assistant of the ROYAL SCIENTIST.

_~A Few Hours Earlier~_

_"SAANNNSSSSS!!!!"_

_Sans gasped, sitting upright at the shrill scream echoing from down-stairs. Breathing heavily he calls back out to his insistent brother, "i'm up Papyrus!"_

_There was no reply but Sans knew all too well what his little brother would do if he didn't get out of his room soon. If there was one thing he was afraid of it was Papyrus messing with his stuff. He's fine with his mess, he doesn't need it cleaned, thank you very much!_

_Sans huffs before dragging himself off of the bed and promptly falling onto the floor. His sheets trail behind him as he clumsily stumbles back up from the ground and away from his bed. He looks down at his stained white t-shirt and ratty old basket ball shorts, "how long have i've been wearing this outfit...?" Sans mumbles to himself before shrugging and picking up his equally stained blue hoodie from underneath piles of trash and shrugging it on with zero grace what-so-ever._

_Sans shuffles his way out of the room, his permanent grin twitching ever so slightly when he checks his watch for the time. It was three in the morning, why the hell does Papyrus keep doing this to him?! He loves the gentle giant that is his beloved brother but he definitely could do with some more sleep, he's not really a morning person as you could probably guess._

_Regardless it's time to start the day, Sans waits patiently at the top of the stairs for his cue, "any moment now..." he mutters under his breath. It takes a few minutes but the wait is worth it._

_"SANS! I MADE BREAKFAST! GET DOWN HERE YOU LAZY BONES!!!" Papyrus' shrill and angry scream echos from the kitchen like a melody, Sans as always, has conflicting emotions about that. Annoyance or amusement? Sans picks the latter._

_'that didn't take long at all.' Sans thinks to himself before slowly shambling his way down the stairs, "right here bro. whats for breakfast?" Sans asks, amusement coating his voice as he ducks into the kitchen. As always, Papyrus- figuratively- jumps out of his skin, and just like every morning, looks about ready to murder him._

_"WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT STARTLING ME, BROTHER?!" Papyrus scolded him with all the grace of an angry mother bear, "I WAS THIS CLOSE TO HITTING YOU WITH THE SPATULA AGAIN!" he warned, waving around the greasy spatula in his hand to show how serious he was. He had on a pink "KISS THE COOK" apron on him, Sans had no idea where he got it from and he didn't want to know._

_"not my fault your jumpy bro, I gave you a warning didn't I?" Sans retorted with a grin, he found it quite fun to tease his brother as always._

_Papyrus narrows his eyes at him, "YOU KNOW THAT YOUR YELLING VOICE LEAVES MUCH TO BE DESIRED! YOU MUMBLE CONSTANTLY!" Papyrus complains before pausing, "ALSO, WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOU CHANGED CLOTHES?! YOU STINK AND I SWEAR YOU'VE BEEN WEARING THAT OUTFIT FOR AT LEAST A MONTH NOW! WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOU EVEN TOOK A SHOWER?!"_

_Sans snorts, waving off Papyrus' complaints and easily ignoring the comment about his clothes, "not my fault you didn't hear me." Sans shrugs, wavering in place slightly as if his legs couldn't support him, for some reason he felt dizzy, oh well, "my legs are killin' me, why'm awake again?" Sans mutters, fatigue, indifference and apathy entering his voice as his earlier joy fades away. The room looked like it was spinning and he was ridiculously tired, closing his eyes, he tries to steady himself. Then fails as he loses his balance and leans into Papyrus' personal space in hopes that he'd catch him._

_Papyrus' eyes widen when Sans' legs give out, dropping the spatula, Papyrus quickly catches his brother before he could hit the ground, "SANS! OH DEAR, ARE YOU ALRIGHT BROTHER?" Papyrus exclaimed, worry in his voice as he carefully guided Sans over to the couch before promptly dropping him on top of it._

_Sans grunted as he made contact with the old couch, collapsing like a rag doll on top of it, "i'ma ok..." Sans groaned quietly into the couch cushions. As if to prove him wrong his skull starts to pound, the pain in his eye-socket seemed to worsen by the second._

_Papyrus rolled his eyes, "SANS, YOU ARE MOST DEFINITELY NOT OKAY! DID YOU TAKE YOUR MEDICINE LAST NIGHT LIKE I TOLD YOU TO?" Papyrus' eye-sockets narrow into a dangerous glare._

_"yeah, yeah." Sans muttered, the couch muffling his answer. Regardless, Papyrus heard him and was not impressed._

_It took a few seconds before the silence got too much for Sans to handle, "ok, ok, I didn't take my medicine. are you happy now Paps?" Sans relented, wincing as he peeled his skull off of the couch cushions to aim a weak glare at his disappointed brother._

_Papyrus sighs before kneeling down to look Sans in the eye-sockets, "SANS. I KNOW HOW EMBARRASSING IT IS FOR YOU, BUT YOU NEED THAT MEDICINE BROTHER. YOU ARE WEAK ENOUGH AS IS, I DON'T WANT YOUR HP TO DROP ANY FURTHER."_

_With that enlightening conversation topic, Sans promptly goes back to burying his head inside the couch cushion. He doesn't need to be reminded of the atrophy in his bones and he cares even less about taking his medicine. Seeing that Sans was unwilling to listen to him, Papyrus sighs once more before standing up to glare disapprovingly at the apathetic bag of bones moping on the couch, "I'LL BE BACK WITH YOUR MEDICINE SHORTLY!" Papyrus declared before hurrying back into the kitchen._

_Sans groans before slowly easing himself up into a sitting position. He yawns tiredly, his eye socket lights blinking out as he tries to gain some more awareness of his surroundings. He waits a few seconds for the dizzying lights and black spots in his vision to fade. Nope. Still there, his vision was still blurry as hell and his headache didn't seem to be going away any time soon either._

_"BROTHER! I AM BACK WITH YOUR MEDICINE!" Papyrus exclaims, rushing back into the room with two grey round pills in one hand and a glass of water in his other hand. Sans reaches for the cup of water and the pills._

_There's a worried silence as Sans takes the pills and then silently finishes off the water._

_"....YOU KNOW SANS, NONE OF THIS WOULD BE A PROBLEM IF YOU GOT OUT SOME MORE, EVEN YOUR DOCTOR SAID SO. A HEALTHY BODY IS A HEALTHY SOUL AFTER ALL! THINK ABOUT WHAT GRANDPA SEMI WOULD SAY!" Papyrus insisted with a worried frown as he tugs nervously on his ruby-red gloves._

_"grandpa's long gone..." Sans sighs, rubbing the ridge between his eye-sockets, "bro, I already told ya. I'm not gonna get a job, it's not gonna help any." he shrugs, avoiding Papyrus's worried gaze._

_Papyrus frowns, "SANS! AT LEAST TRY IT, PLEASE FOR ME? IT MIGHT HELP! YOU DON'T KNOW!" Papyrus insists again, crossing his arms defensively, the stubbornness in his eyes reveal to Sans all he needs to know. Papyrus isn't going to relent on his worried nagging this time._

_Sans hunches in on himself with a thoughtful frown, hesitating before finally relenting, "alright, bro. I'll get a job."_

_Papyrus grins before casually picking Sans off of the couch to spin him around in his arms, "NYEH-HEH-HEH!" Papyrus laughs joyfully, finally done with spinning in place, giving Sans some time to recover, "THAT'S GREAT SANS!!! I'M ALREADY SO PROUD OF YOU!" there was so much hope in his voice and his eye-sockets seemed to brighten with it too. Sans winced, he much preferred this over Papyrus' usual angry annoyance but damn does his brother's energy drain him considerably._

_"uh... paps? ya know my doctor?" Sans pauses, looking Papyrus in the eye with a shaky grin before continuing, "my doctor.. isn't an, uh, actual doctor. pretty sure Alphys doesn't even has a medical degree yet, she failed with flying colors." Sans admits with a shrug._

_Papyrus' grin freezes in place, "WHAT."_

_Papyrus promptly lets go of his brother, letting Sans fall to the ground with a groan of pain._

_"probably shouldn't 'a told ya that." Sans mutters, his grin strained._

_~Present Day~_

So yeah, he's pretty surprised that he actually got a job considering his track record and the few effort he actually put into getting it. That and he was only trying to get his brother off his back. 

Sans stares at Gaster, "i'm going to be your personal assistant?"

Gaster grins, his phalanges having a deadly grip on Sans' shoulder bones, "Why of course, young skeletal. There is nothing else I can see you doing but working by my side, child. You understand my work and can see it's flaws. Regardless of my intelligence, even I can make mistakes sometimes and I'll need an exceptional eye to point them out for me. You'll be of great use, child." Gaster purrs, his voice a dangerous whisper. He was kind, exceptionally so, seeming to take any chance he could get to praise Sans but... Gaster was also kinda creepy if you asked Sans. There was a constant lilt to Gaster's voice, some kind of accent that Sans didn't recognize and Gaster never seemed to raise his voice above a calm, collected whisper. He measured his words slowly as if contemplating each and every word he spoke, as if he was unused to speaking English. He was undeniably powerful too, anyone could see it. Perhaps that's why Sans, who was too apathetic to care about anything that wasn't his brother, felt so uncomfortable around Gaster.

"uh... when do I start?" Sans asks hesitantly, somehow... he felt as if he made a horrible mistake.

"Right away." Gaster fires back, his grin fading into a more polite cold smile. He promptly turns around, exiting the room with the quickness of a viper. Sans rushes to catch up to him.

"uh doc-"

"We'll need to introduce you to my followers and your as-of-now working associates." Gaster gently interrupts him but not once looks over to see if Sans is listening. Sans' eye-brow-bones furrow, what does the guy mean by 'followers'? Some kinda cult or something?

"followers? ya mean like a cult or somethin'?" Sans asks hesitantly, keeping pace with the good doctor.

Gaster gives Sans a sharp nod before pausing, "Not a cult exactly, but they are my followers, destined to follow in my footsteps. That is what they are, Sans. Do keep up, young one." the cold dismissal shocks Sans, Gaster was always described as a kind and warm, if distant, character. Maybe that's just how he is?

Sans sighs, "alright. so who are you gonna introduce me to? got any names?"

"Lethia Goner is my assistant and prized pupil. She's an armless reptile and perhaps the most devoted to my cause. She's a delight to be around, though a bit adamant of her opinion being swayed and perhaps a little too bold for her age." Gaster sighs, taking a small miniature photo album out of his pocket and flipping through it, he stops on a certain page before handing it to Sans. 

The picture was of a young, armless green monster with spikes on the back of her head, she had a pink bow tied to one of the spikes and was wearing a short dress with yellow, pale orange and grey stripes. Her eyes were a pale blue and she grinned proudly at the camera, a sharp glint in her eyes showed the stubbornness that lurked behind her kind and proud grin, "Isn't she a wonder, Sans?" Gaster asks him.

Sans chuckles before nodding, "little spitfire isn't she?"

Gaster smiles, finally looking over to the skeleton jogging next to him in an attempt to keep up to Gaster's pace, "She is so much more then a spitfire, she's a roaring flame of emotions that I can't ever see being extinguished."

"ok?"

"Turn the page Sans." Gaster demands softly, Sans jumps but does as he asks. The picture he's looking at now is of a small monster around the same height of Goner, he was a darker green then Goner and was wearing a stained lab coat, his eyes were a dark curious grey and he smiled shyly at the person behind the camera, "Dr. Ficious Kredahm, he prefers to be called by his first name and he's a rather sweet boy. I'd think that you both would get along quite well. I have... very little to say about him. He's a intelligent fellow and he's quite shy but he enjoys making his strange concoctions. I don't believe he has went even once in an experiment without his lab coat getting stained irreparably."

Sans side-eyes Gaster, he got the sense that Gaster was both fond but extremely disappointed in Ficious at the same time, "what does he do around here exactly?" Sans asks curiously.

Gaster smirks, "He's rather fond of chemistry so that remains to be his most valued job here at the moment. He's planning on expanding his horizons rather soon, so you might just find yourself working with him on more then one occasion." Gaster informs Sans, glancing over to see how Sans takes the news.

Sans shrugs, "seems like he's a nice guy. I'd love to work with 'em."

Gaster sighs as if disappointed in the reaction before shaking his head, "Go on to the next page." Sans silently obeys the order, the next picture was of a pale blue cat, wearing a grey over-sized sweater and orange boots and pants. The cat grinned at the camera cheekily, seems like Sans' kinda guy, "Dr. Lycian Perdeita Grendle is... unique compared to the others. He has a very creative mind and tends to speak in riddles. I quite enjoy chatting with him, he always gives me something new to think about, a new perspective to think about things. If your looking for a new perspective or a brain teaser, I'd suggest going to him. He is quite the clever cat..." Gaster remarks, a fond smile on his skull. He was rather fond of all of his followers.

Sans raises an eyebrow-bone before turning the page, the next picture was simply of a large purple head with sharp teeth, the monster was clearly deranged, "what about this guy?"

Gaster glances briefly at the picture Sans was looking at, "That is my last follower, the most devoted perhaps. He's rather cautious of me regardless. His name is Lious Crain and he's... unstable to say the least. Obsessed perhaps." Gaster responds with a thoughtful frown before snatching the photo album from Sans and silently putting it into the pocket of his lab coat.

Sans frowns slightly, "wha'dya mean by obsessed, doc?"

Gaster pauses, "I did say he was my most devoted, didn't I?"

With that eerie response, Gaster throws open the double doors in front of them, revealing a room filled with desks, science equipment and cabinets, "Welcome to The True Lab." Gaster states proudly, his eyes fixed on his devoted followers.

Standing around one of the desks was all four of Gaster's followers, they turn to look at him and Sans with welcoming grins on their faces, having already been expecting a new follower to join the party.


	4. An Official Introduction Part 1

###  **The Abyss Is Watching, Synchronicity & Atrophy**

**Chapter 3: An Official Introduction Part 1**

Gaster smiled at Sans, placing a hand on his shoulder as he led him deeper into the room. Lethia looked over at them, bored but curious.

Sans grins at her hesitantly, "hey kiddo, your Lethia right?"

Lethia fought back a scowl, "I prefer to be called Goner." she says coldly, her voice was light and musical despite the coldness in her tone, there was no real bite to her words but the message was definitely received. 

Sans leans back, "my, uh, name is Sans. nice rib-bone by the way."

Lethia- or Goner rather, stares at him for a few moments before finally cracking a smile, "Thats... a good one. It's nice to meet you too Sans."

Sans chuckles, "did I tickle your funny bone?"

Goner smirks, a laugh bubbling out of her, "As if!" she rolls her eyes before looking away from Sans to instead look up at Gaster, "Doctor, is this another follower?" she tilts her head, her smile once again matching Gaster's cold distant one.

Gaster kneels down to take her into his arms, Goner buries her face into his lab coat, "Little one... Sans is merely my assistant as of this moment." he tells her gently before letting her go and standing up to his full height. Goner's eyes are wide with amazement and admiration like a child finally meeting their idol or paragon after a lengthy amount of time.

Sans watches this patiently, 'this is most definitely a cult. they look up at him like he's some kinda divine whatever, a paragon of virtue.' Sans muses, carefully keeping his thoughts tucked away in his mind.

Ficious wanders over next, shy and hesitant as he approaches them. His lab coat was stained irreparably with filth and bubbling liquids, there was a tear in the shoulder that was clumsily stitched together. Ficious tugs at the sleeve of his lab coat, "A new one doc?" he smiles up at Gaster, fond and happy to see him.

"Indeed, young one. This is Sans as you might've already heard, he will be my personal assistant." Gaster' smile was cold, distant and had a dangerous edge to it, none of his followers seem to notice what Sans does though, "I'll be back rather quickly, go about business as usual. Goner is in charge until I get back."

Ficious and Goner nod at Gaster, accepting the command easily.

Gaster nods sharply back at them, "Now then, help Sans settle in. I'll be back to check in on you all in a matter of minutes." with his part said, Gaster hurry's out of the room in a brisk walk, not once looking back.

Only a few seconds later, Ficious turns to look at Sans, a shy smile gracing his face,"Hello, it's nice to meet you. The others call me Ficious." he says, fidgeting with the sleeve of his lab coat.

Sans nods at him, "it's nice to meet ya too kiddo."

"Do you know Doctor Gaster well?" Ficious asks curiously, his voice was young and light, almost a whisper.

Sans shrugs, "nah, just met the guy today."

Ficious leans closer in curiosity, "He gave you the job right off?" Ficious says, shocked before saying to himself, "Well, he always did like the younger ones." he muses before laughing "More creative, he says! He's more creative then all of us combined! What an act to follow." his voice was full of excitement and wonder, his voice raising slightly.

Sans' grin freezes in alarm, 'what the hell did he do to them?!' Sans keeps his thoughts carefully in check before responding, "guess ya really look up to him huh?"

Ficious nods enthusiastically, "Oh yes! Very much so. He has his faults like everyone else but he's a brilliant man and an even better scientist."

Sans raises an eye-brow-bone, leaning away from the small monster, "uh-huh."

Goner rolls her eyes, quickly butting into their conversation, "There's nothing WRONG with him, Ficious! Stop saying that stuff!" her voice raises to a yell almost immediately, Ficious hunches over but doesn't back down.

"Goner... his curiosity will be his downfall. So many safety precautions haven't been used lately. He's going down a wrong path. He's a brilliant man but he isn't perfect." he says gently, trying to reason with her, "If- if I had some help maybe I could help him get better."

Goner hesitates, worry briefly flashing in her eyes, "I understand your concern but the Doctor is fine." she says simply, her expression going stone cold before turning her back on them and walking away to join Lycian and Dr. Crain over by one of the tables at the end of the room.

Ficious looks over to Sans with a small frown, "I'm sorry you had to see that."

Sans shrugs, his grin twitching, "eh, no worry's kiddo. I don't mind."

Ficious hesitates, twisting the sleeve of his lab coat tighter around his claws, "Well... still, this doesn't happen very often. Goner only gets like this when it concerns the Doctor. Still, it wasn't very polite and no one enjoys watching an argument." he babbles, his voice small as he looks down at the ground in what seems to be embarrassment or shame.

Sans chuckles, reaching out to gently lay his hand on Ficious' shoulder. The small monster looks up at him, weary as Sans says gently; "like I said, don't worry kiddo. I don't mind one bit." 

Ficious chuckles nervously, smiling shyly at him, "Alright. If-if your ever uncomfortable though, don't be afraid to tell someone. Your one of us now." 

Sans nods, letting go of his shoulder and shoving his hand back into his pocket, "got it kiddo. I'll tell ya."

There's an awkward silence as Ficious thinks of what to say next, a moment later he finally responds, "I-I'll just let you get settled in, there's lockers and cabinets at the end of the room. Third to the left should be filled with lab coats and Id badges to let you into building."

Sans nods once more, "alright, so just grab a lab coat and ID? shouldn't I be getting my own ID or something?" Sans asks, raising an eye-brow-bone skeptically. From what it sounds like he'll be using someone elses ID.

Ficious beams up at him, "U-uh yeah, It doesn't matter which one you have though. Most of the ID's are from previous workers, Dr. Gaster will be giving you your own ID by the end of this week but until then any old ID should work just fine." Ficious reassures him with a smile before taking something out of his lab coat pocket. The object was a small key, "Here, this should open the lockers." Ficious holds the key out to Sans.

Sans hums lightly before nodding, taking the key out of his hands, "ok, third one to the left." Sans wanders away from Ficious to approach the lockers. Stopping in front of the third locker to the left, Sans shoves the key into the key-hole and turns until there's a clicking sound. He opens the locker carefully, inside there was a pile of folded up lab coats and two ID badges. 

Sans looks them over before taking a badge and the cleanest lab coat in the locker and puts his boney arms through the sleeves. It fit perfectly. Shoving the ID badge into the pocket of his lab coat, he closes the locker and makes sure that it's locked. With that done, he shambles his way back to Ficious and hands over the key, his grin never wavering, "here ya go."

Ficious chuckles nervously, taking the key and putting back into his pocket, "Thanks. You sure are fast." he comments quietly or rather awkwardly.

Sans shrugs, "yep. usually I take my time but I figured I best get it over with as quickly as possible."

Ficious nods slowly, "Al-Alright."

Sans rolls his eyes, "so, what am I supposed to do right now?"

Ficious shrugs, "I'm not really sure, Gaster only said to get you settled in. If you want I can introduce you to Dr Crain and Lycian?" he asks, seeming to find the current conversation as awkward as Sans does.

"sure, why not?" Sans decides, there was very little that could go wrong with meeting new people.


	5. An Official Introduction Part 2 Lycian & Dr. Crain

###  **The Abyss Is Watching, Synchronicity & Atrophy**

**Chapter** **4: An Official Introduction Part 2 Lycian & Dr. Crain**

Dr Crain and Lycian were rather unique, they had their eccentricity's. That much was clear just by talking to them. It was no surprise that they were hired, Gaster seemed to have an interest in the strange and abnormal. 

Dr. Crain slunk away almost immediately when Sans approached the two monsters, stealthy and quiet as he quickly glided away from them with what looked like apprehension and dread on his face.

Lycian, when Sans got near, quickly began to start a conversation, asking about how he got the job and such. He said every sentence in rhyme, everything had some sort of rhythm to it, he spoke quickly and efficiently till each word flowed together as if it was music. 

"To hire someone with such little information or be unaware of such affairs that led to such a decision is something most others would not dare in such a condition as he." Lycian concluded after a moment of thinking. He said the words quickly with barely a breath between each word, the words flowing together easily. 

In Lycain's hands was a ball of grey putty, a form of slime that seemed to be melting. He pushed and pulled at the putty with his fingers, shaping and twisting it into different forms in quick, repetitive and irregular movements. A nervous habit maybe?

Sans snorted, "yep, pretty much. he's a uh, strange one, did he hire you the same way?" he was very curious about Dr. Gaster. The man was strange. Friendly yet cold, creepy yet professional. What made these other monsters worship him like he was the very air they breathed?

Lycian hummed lightly in response, "He's a strange one indeed, his hires, he deceives. Same in every way, he hired us in his own way, not giving us the chance to say Nay. It was in a strange way that he took us away with promises of a sunny day." the words were rapid fired, confusing but gave a simple picture. Lycian said them quickly and efficiently, barely a moment of thought before his response. 

Sans took a moment to decipher the rhyme, just to make sure he understood him correctly. Gaster deceived them, hired them without giving them much of a choice and promised to show them the sun someday. 

"he didn't give ya much of a choice huh?" Sans muttered, thinking back to what Gaster was like in the interview.

Assertive, that's what Gaster was. He was definitely the type of person to hire someone right off without really thinking it through, he was also the type of person to make promises he couldn't keep, "ya don't think he'll set us free some day?" Sans asks cautiously, an eye-brow bone raised.

Lycian smiles a mysterious eerie smile, "The Doctor means well, thinking of freedom and happy shores but we're no closer then before to the liberating of our penitentiary cores." Lycian pauses, squeezing the putty in his hands tightly, "To believe is to hope but very few still believe or ensure as such. I believe in him but I don't believe in his cause."

Sans chuckles nervously, "uh, penitentiary means prison right?"

Lycian rolls his eyes, "Another question seems to reign in your mind. So best leave your worry's behind." he says dryly. Sans blinks, the message received. Don't ask questions you already know the answer to.

Sans shuffles in place quietly, "so why wouldn't ya 'believe in his cause'?" he finally asks.

Lycian chuckles, "He's a fool." he confesses, "He may work faster, brilliant and as wonderful as he is, brought about will be a disaster brought upon by Gaster's inane goal. Upon the liberation of this penitentiary brought about by a misunderstanding of sins, we will face a much worse fate then to be locked away in this prison brought about by their hate." Lycian's breath hitches, he bows his head as the ball of putty breaks apart in his hands, the gooey part of the substance drips onto the floor. 

Sans watches him carefully, absorbing the information easily, "...in your opinion, whats the chances of another war starting when we get back up there? what's the chances that monster-kind will survive another war?"

Lycian is silent for a few moments before finally responding, "...It'll be catastrophic. A war to end all war's, a prison will not satisfy their hunger anymore. It'll be most tragic." Lycian responds somberly, his voice almost in a sing-song quality as he carefully pieces the putty back together, molding it back into a smooth round ball. Turning around he places the ball of putty into the metal basin full of gooey liquid. The liquid absorbs the ball of putty easily. 

Now with his back to Sans, Lycian washes his hands with a detached look in his eyes, "I abhor the concept of walking to death with such ambition. I would not adhere to the Doctors request of help if he were not so full of life in this horrid condition. If he wishes it so, I'd walk with him till the end of his life. We may be his followers but I will not be their cattle in this horrid strife." he finishes softly, bowing his head once more as he stays turned away from Sans.

Sans takes it all in silently before placing his hand on Lycian's shoulder, "you really respect him, I get that. it's... admirable that you put so much faith in him despite the situation we're in. i'm scared too, if we get out we'd be killed off pretty quickly. but... at least we'd see the sun one last time though." Sans says softly before taking his hand away. 

Lycian, surprised, turns around to stare at him. Sans shrugs, "and uh, hey, maybe king fluffybuns might be able to change their minds. we don't know for sure but humans mighta changed in the years we've been trapped here, we might not even have to go to war. we don't know. i think it's worth it though. the risk is worth it just to see the sun again."

Lycian is silent for a moment before slowly smiling, "You may be right, I will admit. Change is always afoot and a risk is better then no hit." Lycian responds softly, a smirk slowly growing on his face. Success with risk, in his opinion, will always be better then no success at all. 

Sans chuckles, understanding what Lycian's trying to tell him rather easily, "uh, yeah, it'll work out." he responds with a small shrug. 

"Successful indeed." a silky voice purrs out as a skeletal hand reaches out from behind Sans to pat Sans on the head. Sans freezes as Gaster's hands scratch the top of his skull gently, sliding down the curve of the neck before finally pulling away. Sans shudders, turning to look at the older skeleton. 

Gaster smiles a teasing and almost playful smile at him as if nothing happened, amusement dancing in his eyes, "Ah, you scare so easily, young skeletal." he says fondly, "I am most glad I decided upon hiring you, young one. It was a vexing decision considering the... few credentials you have." amusement coated his words as the room went silent.

Gaster's followers stared at him, in awe just by being in his presence before beginning to swarm him. Surrounding him and waiting for a command.

"Doctor, will our... visitor be given an office or will we need to make room?" Goner asks simply, approaching Gaster and Sans slowly. Lycian moves aside to give them some room.

Gaster smiles down at her, reaching out to lay a skeletal hand on her head, "All will be taken care of shortly, my dear." he responds in a gentle whisper, "I will have him room in my office as of this moment until I can clear out one of the old rooms."

Goner smiles up at him, she giggles before knocking his hand off of her head gently with her tail, she ducks away from him playfully with a smile, "Your new assistant will be rooming with you? Doctor, that's a bit perverse." she says coyly, her smile turning into a cat-like smirk. Her long tail swishes, swaying from side to side in precise movements.

Gaster shakes his head fondly at her, "Unorthodox yes but we both know that's not what I meant, little one." exasperation fills his voice, he didn't seem to mind the insinuation she was suggesting though. Very few things tended to bother him.

Goner rolls her eyes at him, "Doctor, next time say what you mean instead of making it all complicated." she sighs out, her tail curls around her leg slowly before she turns around sharply and makes her way through the small crowd and back over to her working space. Her emotions seemed to change rather quickly.

Sans chuckles nervously, "so uh, what exactly do you do around here?"

Gaster smiles eerily, "You'll see, young one. You'll see." with that said he saunters out of the room in quick strides, gesturing for Sans to follow him, "Follow me, Sans." Gaster demands, heading out the room quickly. Sans struggles to catch up with him, practically running after him. 


	6. He's Not Really That Bad I Swear!

###  **The Abyss Is Watching, Synchronicity & Atrophy**

**Chapter 5: He's Really Not That Bad I Swear!**

  
Sans cautiously follows Gaster back into his pristine office, having a bit of trouble keeping up with his long strides. The office was neat and tidy, not a single thing out of place. It was so neat and lacking of personal affects that Sans suspected that Gaster didn't use this one very often, he probably had another one somewhere else in the building.   
Filing Cabinets lined one wall in a perfect straight line, on the other side of the room was Gaster's desk, a chair on either side of it. It was the very same desk Sans and Gaster sat at earlier today. The wooden desk was polished a shiny sheen, there was nothing on the desk to hint towards it ever being used by Gaster except a half-empty cup of coffee that had long since gone cold.

Gaster gestures to the chair that Sans was sitting in earlier today with a polite smile, "Do sit down young one. For now, I simply need you to sign a few pieces of paperwork to confirm your employment here and your current residency for the king so that I can give you proper payment at the end of the month." Gaster explains simply, watching silently as Sans sits down at the desk Gaster gestured to.

Sans nods slowly, getting comfortable in the chair as much as he could, "alright, so I just have to sign some papers and that'll be my job application?" 

Gaster nods, a smile on his pale skull, "Indeed." he says dryly, taking a large stack of paper's out of a nearby filing cabinet before placing down the packet in front of Sans, "Now, read all that over, answer the questions and sign your name at the bottom of each page and the job is yours." he states simply, handing a pen over to him, wasting no time at all to get this done as quickly as possible.

Sans raises an eyebrow bone, an amused smirk on his skull, "shouldn't ya have made me sign all this before you introduced me to your followers?" he asks, already beginning to read through the packet. His eye-lights rise lazily from the packet to meet Gaster's eyes.

Gaster clears his throat, avoiding eye-contact, "Perhaps. I admit I may have been a tad bit over-excited. I never did enjoy the wonders of paperwork, I'd imagine your much the same way." he sighs forlornly before raising his eyes to meet his, "When you have that done you can go home. Your hours and work days are written on the first page and any questions you may have can be taken up with either myself or my assistant Dr. Goner."

Sans rolls his eyes, "I got it doc." he mutters, already on the fifth page in the packet Gaster gave him, having been reading through it and answering the questions while Gaster was talking.

Gaster chuckles, his eyes lighting up as his cold smile softens ever so slightly, "I understand young one. I do believe you can get it all done without my help." Gaster pauses to collect himself, hardening his expression once more and taking a brief glance at his watch, "It is rather late as of this moment. I'll leave you to get settled." he suggests, already heading towards the door, "When your done don't bother looking for me, just go on right home and leave the packet behind. I'll look over it when you get back and I can give you a photocopy of it tomorrow morning."

Sans hums an agreement, "ok. see ya later doc." Sans agrees, briefly looking up from the paperwork to flash him a grin.

Gaster nods sharply, "You as well, have a good night Sans." he leaves the room in brisk strides, closing the door softly behind him.

Sans smiles, tapping the pen gently against the pile of papers in thought. Gaster makes quite the impression, Sans can definitely see why the others like him so much. Gaster started off cold and sort of creepy but it turns out the guy isn't really that bad. 

Sans chuckles, shaking his head before getting back to the boring paperwork, he couldn't wait to get home and tell Papyrus about what happened. He'll be so proud that Sans finally got a job that, hopefully, he'll stop bugging Sans twenty-four-seven.

How he even got the job is beyond him.


End file.
